He has been described as one of the most severely wounded soldiers to survive the Afghanistan war.

Warrant Officer Ken Bellringer was given just a 10% chance of survival after he was injured risking his life to save his colleague out in Helmand Province.

It was 2009, and Corporal Loren Marlton-Thomas, 28, known to his comrades as 'Loz' had been on a narrow footpath, just ahead of the rest of their men, when he suddenly found himself trapped.

"He was out in front, a very experienced guy, very reliable," recalls Ken. "He turns to me, about three metres from where I am, and just says, 'Mate, I'm stuck. Really, I'm stuck.'"

Both of the corporal's feet were suddenly in the ground, in a dip no larger than a rabbit hole, but with alarmingly straight edges.

Ken, an experienced bomb disposal expert with the Royal Logistics Corps, knew exactly what it was.

Operating in a core team of three, from start to finish he knew they could find, deactivate and clear a device in around 20 minutes; they were that fast.

This time though, the device was directly under the feet of Corporal Loren Marlton-Thomas.

It hadn't functioned, it hadn't blown beneath the pressure, but simply by stepping on it, its state was now altered. There was no knowing how long they had.

Ken tried moving his foot around the outside of the edges, looking for perhaps a wire that was running off to a battery. He found nothing.

Ken made what he knew could be a life-changing decision. He decided to risk his own life to try and rescue his friend. "I grabbed him under the arms and I pulled," said Ken.

The blast that followed raised them both from the ground. Ken lost his legs instantly.

By the time the medivac lifted him out and he was in a hospital bed he's lost both legs above the knee, his thumbs, the little finger on his left hand, and suffered a shattered pelvis and muscle damage to his arms.

Tragically, Corporal Loren Marlton-Thomas died of his injures.

"I was in a coma for five weeks and at the time, I was the most seriously injuried person that they had managed to save, and thats really testament to the guys on the ground, the medics who dealt with me, the helicopter pilots who got me back the surgeons and all the way down the line," Ken recalls.

"I owe them everything, they saved my life. When I first awoke in quite a drug-induced haze, I was just relieved to be alive, that was my starting point and anything after that was a bonus."

Ken, who served in the army for 27 years, is now pouring his experiences of life on the front line into Unspoken, a drama which brings to light the lives interupted and forever changed by war.

The play originally ran for one night only in November for Rememberence Day but its popularity saw producers bring it back for the Edinburgh Fringe.

From the battlefield to the kitchen, the street corner to the bar, a disparate regiment of soldiers, sailors and airmen find themselves at their local club, looking for entertainment and a chance to share their journeys with us.

Each of the tales brought to the stage are based on real life stories told by injured or sick servicemen and their families.

"We have 100 stories and they have been amalgamated, some are in their entirety, others have been brought together by the writer to create a new show which is performed by servicemen and their families," explains Unspoken director Philip Hoffmann.

Ken is delighted to have the opportunity to see Edinburgh from the other side during the Fringe festival. Before his injuries, he would be stationed at places of importance such as the Tattoo as part of a bomb disposal unit.

Now he is practicing his lines for his role as a comic in the play, adding he is sort of a "stand up comedian - despite the wheelchair".

"It's a totally new experience for me, it's something I've never done before.

"I had been in the army for 27 years and the arts aren't something you really get involved in," Ken adds.

"We all want each other to do well, it's nice being part of that.

"It's nice that I can do my bit and that my disabilities don't matter.

"I feel part of the team and I feel a worthy part of the team and that I'm not a burden.

"That is just a really good feeling."

Unspoken will run at the Pleasance Beyond at the Pleasance Courtyard from August 21 to August 27.